Come Morning Light
by winterromance
Summary: After being kept prisoner for two months, Hermione is finally set free. But why? And by who?


**I know what you're probably thinking, "Another one!", but yes. Another one:) I have many stories bouncing around in my head and it helps to write them out. Plus it also helps if I know if I should continue them. If I know no one likes them they are easier to forget. So please let me know what you think…I was thinking about leaving this one where it ends here and being done with it. I'm not sure, I'll leave that up to you guys! **

**Disclaimer: Lucky for you, Harry Potter is not mine. If he was, I wouldn't share **

**PS: The title was taken for Taylor Swift's song, _Safe & Sound_ (which I also do not own)**

There was darkness all around me and the silence was deafening. I could feel the cold stone floor beneath me chilling me to the bone. The only clothes I had on were the old dirty tee shirt and jean shorts that I had been wearing when I was captured. It must have been a month already. I had lost track of the days when they threw me in this god awful dungeon. I was all alone in here with the exception of the daily visit by a Death Eater, giving me scraps of food like a dog. I knew I was losing weight rapidly but I couldn't find it in myself to care anymore. I had expected to be rescued by now. I knew that it would be a challenge to find out where I was being kept, hell I didn't even know, but somehow I thought that this nightmare would be over by now. I had little to no faith left that I would ever get out of here.

I had a few visitors since I had been here. Most were random Death Eaters sent down here to torture me. You would think that after being hit with the cruciatus curse so much one would become immune to it, but it didn't work that way. Somehow it was just as painful as the previous ones. There must have been other captives being held here as well because I could hear their screams echoing against the stone wall; that was how I knew that my turn was coming.

The wooden door to my cell opened as I heard multiple voices.

"You'll never believe who we captured! She's been here for almost two months." Two months? Had it really been that long? As the door opened wider I could see three figures blocking the light that was now streaming into the small room. I was huddled in the corner trying to stay in the shadows.

"Aunt Bella, you know I don't care about who we have held in the dungeons." I recognized that voice the moment I heard it. I couldn't believe my ears though.

"Oh Draco, you'll care about this one." A lumos spell lit up the entire room leaving me nowhere to hide. My eyes met those cold grey ones of Draco Malfoy. I saw recognition flash across his face but there was no other emotion present. I was surprised to not see him grinning like a bastard at finally having me in my place; it was all he ever talked about in school. "Potter's little pet mudblood." Bellatrix said with distaste. Even so, I couldn't find the fire within me to even look offended or upset.

"It looks like a lot has happened since I left." Draco stated still looking at me but talking to his crazed aunt.

"Three months is a long time, Draco." The third voice, Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy, finally spoke. I knew he had been down to torture me on a few occasions just because of his voice alone. It will haunt me until the day I die; which at this rate, won't be long now. "No time for playing now though, the Dark Lord requests your presence. He has much to discuss with you, son." I saw the Lucius and Bellatrix turn to leave but Draco continued to stare at me. It wasn't until the other two were out of sight that Draco allowed any emotion to show on his face. If I saw correctly, there was sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," He mouthed to me before turning and leaving.

Why did he apologize? This is all he ever wanted since we were eleven years old. Shouldn't he be ecstatic that I'm his new toy? The whole visit was strange. What did they mean when they said he had been gone for three months? Where was he? The whole thing was very unsettling and I could come up with no plausible explanation for any of it.

Days must have passed since Draco had come to see me. I had been lucky enough that no one else had come down to 'play' as Lucius put it. I couldn't tell if it was day or night and I knew that if I ever did get out of here it would be a long time before I ever regained a regular sleep pattern again. But that was the least of my worries right now. I wondered what Harry and Ron would be doing at this moment. Would they be searching frantically for me or would they have given up by now? It had been two months after all. Maybe they thought I was dead already. I wonder if Harry and Ginny ever became an official couple. I wonder if Ron would be waiting for me. We did have that kiss a week before I was captured. We never got to talk about it and what it meant though.

It saddened me greatly to think of them. I couldn't help myself though. I felt a lone tear slip down my face. It was times like these, even before I was held prisoner that I would sing to myself. It had a way of making me feel better. These days however, I only sang one song.

_I remember tears streaming down your face  
>When I said, "I'll never let you go"<br>When all those shadows almost killed your light  
>I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone"<br>But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight_

Just close your eyes  
>The sun is going down<br>You'll be alright  
>No one can hurt you now<br>Come morning light  
>You and I'll be safe and sound<p>

Don't you dare look out your window darling  
>Everything's on fire<br>The war outside our door keeps raging on  
>Hold on to this lullaby<br>Even when the music's gone  
>Gone<p>

Just close your eyes  
>The sun is going down<br>You'll be alright  
>No one can hurt you now<br>Come morning light  
>You and I'll be safe and sound<p>

Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh  
>La La (La La)<br>La La (La La)  
>Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh<br>La La (La La)

Just close your eyes  
>You'll be alright<br>Come morning light,  
>You and I'll be safe and sound...<p>

I had heard this song just before I was captured and I had fallen in love with the beautiful sadness of it. I liked to think that I too, would be safe and sound but that hope was slowly diminishing. I found myself singing the song more and more these days and I knew it was because I was getting more anxious with the fact that I might never leave.

I heard the lock on my door click and slowly open. There was no light coming from the hallway this time so I could barely make out the figure that was now entering my cell. They closed the door behind them which cause me to panic, jumping to my feet. This was something that never happened. Usually when they came in to torture me they would leave the door open, most likely to let the other prisoners have a better listen. They lit the tip of their wand to a dim glow, just enough to see around the small room. I was surprised to see Draco Malfoy standing in front of me.

He was a whole head taller than me and was much more muscular then I remembered him being in school. His eyes were glowing in the dim light, searching my face. He had the same sad look in his eyes.

"We're leaving," was all he said to me. A fresh wave of confusion fell over my face

"Where are you taking me?" I hated the small glimmer of hope that my heart saw when he spoke. Surely he couldn't mean leaving the cell and returning me home.

"Home. You don't belong here." His voice was quiet but deep. The vibrations of his whispers were oddly comforting to me.

"You're helping me escape?" My eyes narrowed at him, trying to see if he was telling the truth. He only nodded in response. "They'll kill you if they find out, you know that right?"

"Of course I know that, Granger. Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Well, you are saying you want to help me escape from your side!"

"I'm aware. But if you really want to be free, then we have to go now. There isn't much time." I knew I should have been wearier of him but the thought of freedom returned in full force. I saw the opportunity and took it. If it was a trap, what was the worse they could do to me? Lock me in a dungeon and torture me? They've already done that. He held out his hand to me waiting for me to take it. Throwing caution to the wind, I grabbed his hand.

Almost immediately, I felt the pull of apparation, then just as quickly, the feel of grass beneath my bare feet. We were in a field of flowers illuminated by the full moon. It was warm, by my calculations it would be mid-august. I looked around waiting for the other Death Eaters to jump out and start hexing me but when it didn't happen, I let out a small laugh. It was a laugh of disbelief and happiness. I was free. Without thinking I threw my arms around Draco's neck and hugged him. He seemed shocked at first but slowly returned the gesture.

"Thank you so much, Draco. I owe you my life." I whispered as I hugged him.

"You're welcome, but you don't owe me anything, except to be more careful next time." I felt the rumble in his chest as he spoke and felt calmed by it. We let go of each other and I nodded to him and gave him a smile. He held something out to me and it took me a minute to register what it was; my wand. "Will you be ok to apparate?"

"Yes, I think so." It was strange to hold the wood in my hands again. It had been so long since I felt it beneath my fingertips. I felt warmth spread through me that I had been missing. I smiled again at him, "Why?"

"Short version? I couldn't stand to see you in there. You're much more than a muggleborn, Hermione." I wasn't sure what to think of his words. They were totally different than what he spat at me through our school years. He seemed completely sincere though and I had an easy time believing him. "And your singing was terrible and I couldn't stand to hear it another night." He smiled when he said this and I knew he was joking with me. This again confused me but made me laugh none the less.

"You'll miss it."

"I will. Be safe Hermione."

"Thank you, Draco." With one last smile at him, I apparated myself to Grimmauld Place.

Somehow I was shocked to find it still there. Had I really thought it would disappear just because I had? There were lights on in the house and I felt anticipation well up inside me. I imagined everyone sitting around the table talking, Harry and Ron would be playing wizards chess with Harry losing of course, Ginny would be reading girly magazines, Fred and George would be trying to trick Neville into trying their latest product, Mrs. Weasley would be fussing over dinner while Mr. Weasley read the newspaper, Tonks and Remus would be talking quietly about baby names. I finally burst into a run towards the house feeling like I would explode if I didn't.

I ran through the house until I got to the kitchen where I saw exactly what I imagined despite the late hour, or what I assumed was the late hour. When they heard me enter everything went silent. We just stared at each other for a few minutes until Harry stood up so fast his chair flew backwards. He rushed over to me with arms open tears streaming down his face.

"Hermione!"


End file.
